Webley in original 455 cal. to convert to 45 ACP

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Tony750

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I am probable not making friends with this topic title, but it's more that I am seeking advice in the following thing:

I have a nice Webley MKVI revolver in original 455 caliber. Overall in good condition, however the blue finish is terrible and it starts to pick up some light pitting. This gun is where I live considered antique and exempt of licensing (Belgium / France, Europe).

I feel would like to shoot this old girl from time to time but Webley 455 brass is truly impossible to find here in Europe and unfortunately with the new legislation in the US it's impossible to have it imported from the US. Bottom line is, how to get her shooting again? I am experienced with reloading ofcourse and I already shoot 45 ACP. As far as I see it there are a few options:

- Finding a source of 455 webley brass. Seems impossible here in Europe but if anyone knows something, please let me know.
- Altering 45 ACP brass. Is that possible?
- Finding an already shaved cylinder for the this particular gun. If anyone knows a cylinder for sale then I am interested!
- Switching with somebody who wants to trade there 45acp cylinder for my unaltered one. Not sure yet If I would want that but it is an option.
- Altering, or 'shaving' the Original 455 cylinder back to 45 ACP. (this would be the most brutal, or perhaps even most barbarian way to go).

And btw, no worries, I DO have a feeling for the history and antiquity of this gun.

Ton
 
.455 Webley can be made from .45 Colt brass. Trim to length, and turn down the rim a bit. Can be done with hand tools. A lathe would work too if you had access to one.

Once formed, probably a good idea to anneal the brass before loading the first time. That's not to hard either.

If you can't get .45 Colt brass then there really is no hope for Europe. ;)
 
Just remember that the .455 is a low pressure round and load accordingly.
You can make .45 Colt brass work very well, but not a 45 ACP levels.

Some neat old guns have been blown apart by those who tried 45 ACP rounds.

Blown01a-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Tony750 said:
I am probable not making friends with this topic title, but it's more that I am seeking advice in the following thing:

I have a nice Webley MKVI revolver in original 455 caliber. Overall in good condition, however the blue finish is terrible and it starts to pick up some light pitting. This gun is where I live considered antique and exempt of licensing (Belgium / France, Europe).

I feel would like to shoot this old girl from time to time but Webley 455 brass is truly impossible to find here in Europe and unfortunately with the new legislation in the US it's impossible to have it imported from the US. Bottom line is, how to get her shooting again? I am experienced with reloading ofcourse and I already shoot 45 ACP. As far as I see it there are a few options:

- Finding a source of 455 webley brass. Seems impossible here in Europe but if anyone knows something, please let me know.
- Altering 45 ACP brass. Is that possible?
- Finding an already shaved cylinder for the this particular gun. If anyone knows a cylinder for sale then I am interested!
- Switching with somebody who wants to trade there 45acp cylinder for my unaltered one. Not sure yet If I would want that but it is an option.
- Altering, or 'shaving' the Original 455 cylinder back to 45 ACP. (this would be the most brutal, or perhaps even most barbarian way to go).

And btw, no worries, I DO have a feeling for the history and antiquity of this gun.

Ton
Click to expand...
Your gun your business. I would not ruin perfectly good revolver far too many people butchered Webley revolvers to point that ones in original chambering are more difficult to find.
 
Pretty PLEASE to my American friends. Stop taking fine European firearms out of proof by foolishly modifying them. For example, I have encountered far to many fine vintage English shotguns with lengthened chambers and no re-proof marks.:cuss:
 
I second using .45 Colt brass as Kernel advises, but one point - you trim the rim from the front to thin it to .455 dimensions. You can do the same with .45 Auto Rim, if that is available. I also will note that the .455 Webley is also called by several other names, like .455 Eley, so it is possible it is available, but not under the .455 Webley name.

FWIW, I know of no new U.S. restrictions on export of ammunition. Ammunition of all calibers has been hard to get in the U.S. because of panic buying and hoarding out of fear of further laws, but AFAIK there have been no changes in the export laws.

Pabloj, I share your concern about altering fine guns, especially when there is danger involved, but there is no legal concern in the U.S. about "taking a gun out of proof." The U.S. has no proof law and there is no government inspection of imported guns to be sure they comply with foreign proof laws.

Jim
 
Don't

Please don't alter the revolver. Aside from pressure issue, the Webley has very poor accuracy shooting 45 ACP. With proper ammo it's a very accurate revolver.

The 45 ACP bullet is quite undersized. The Webley was designed to shoot a hollow based bullet like a Minie ball. When I had one I had no problem buying 455 Colt ammo for it. The 455 Colt was loaded with a 256 grain lead bullet with a very deep hollow base. I reloaded with flat based bullets intended for 45 Colt which did quite well.

PS. Shaving the cylinder makes the extractor quite delicate.
 
Thanks for your replies. I do not intent initially to shave the cylinder because of collectors value and for the feeling of authenticity of this nice old gun, so no immideate worries about that.

45 Autorim is available here, so that might be a viable route.

One other thing. I just found out that while 455 webley is not available, the 455 Adams brass is, since it is original a blackpowder round, making it easier available in some countries in the EU. The Adams is the direct predesessor of the Webley with the same dimensions, however the Adams 455 has a case that is about 1.6mm (or 0.0645 inch) shorter. What if I just seated the bullet about 1.6 mm less deep creating an OAL (overall length) that is consistent with the 455 Webley. Would'nd I just recreate the specs of the Original 455 Webley round?

Thanks!
 
I would imagine you could load the round about as short or long as you liked given the low pressures involved. As long as there is enough bullet In the case for the neck to get a good grip on, you should be good to load the Adams to Webley OAL.

Do everything you can to avoid shaving that gun.
 
The shorter case would leave more crud to clean out of the chambers like firing 38 spl from a 357. Don't see any other problem other than the cleaning issue.
 
I have a Mark VI already cut for .45.

One suggestion I'd make is to find another cylinder to cut if your current one still has the matching serial number.

The cutting of the rear of the cylinder for moon clips partially obliterates the cylinder serial number.
 
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